I started using Pirateship. It cut the cost of shipping drastically compared to walking into the UPS store.
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'Has Shipping Cost Gotten That Outrageous'
- Thread starter mustBmtd
- Start date
Yep... I "just" took a beating on a sale/shipment. I used to be able to send a bass most anywhere in the U.S. for $80 or less. They just took $120 from me and that was the lowest price. Of course being the week before Xmas may have some to do with it too. Had I known (or realized) that before hand I wouldn't have shipped it.
I still ship fairly regularly. My two work-around:
1. learn to pack well yourself. I try and keep boxes to the minimum size while still offering protection. The shipping stores charge exorbitant prices for packing. Look online, there’s lots of good tutorials on how to pack items properly.
2. Use a discount shipper. I use pirateship.com, they give multiple options. For small items USPS is usually best, for larger items (cabs, basses) usually UPS ground.
as an example, I recently shipped a speaker cab/amp. From CO to the midwest, in a 20x20x18 box that weighed about 30 lbs. total cost to me was something like $34 + $4.00 for the box from Lowe’s (I like the heavy duty moving boxes). I save all bubble wrap, corner protectors, etc from anything I get shipped to me.
1. learn to pack well yourself. I try and keep boxes to the minimum size while still offering protection. The shipping stores charge exorbitant prices for packing. Look online, there’s lots of good tutorials on how to pack items properly.
2. Use a discount shipper. I use pirateship.com, they give multiple options. For small items USPS is usually best, for larger items (cabs, basses) usually UPS ground.
as an example, I recently shipped a speaker cab/amp. From CO to the midwest, in a 20x20x18 box that weighed about 30 lbs. total cost to me was something like $34 + $4.00 for the box from Lowe’s (I like the heavy duty moving boxes). I save all bubble wrap, corner protectors, etc from anything I get shipped to me.
Same here. My last few sales have been strictly in my region. Along with saving shipping costs, a pleasant additional upside is that I’ve met some really nice TBers face to face.
Yeah, the discrepancy in shipping prices is off the charts. You always see someone in these threads say something like, " I use ACME Shipping and it only costs $50 to ship a Jazz cross country", or something like that. Personally, I don't care much for the idea of using a bicycle company to ship a musical instrument, but apparently some people do with success. I hate shipping instruments, but when I do, these days, I always state that its going to be $100+ to ship, if they want it packed correctly and safely.It's strange that some sellers can send to Canada from Europe for around $100.00, but some quote shipping from the US at over $400.00.
Yes indeed. This method has come in handy a number of times for me too.
Until more people finally understand that we're actually taxed on net profit, not gross sales?
Selling a used item for less than we paid for it, including subtracting costs like listing fees, packaging, etc... is not a taxable event. Not to mention, profit made on one item can be nullified by losses on others at the end of the tax year.
For those who have been buying and selling for profit, the net gain over a threshold has always been reportable and possibly taxable, regardless of receiving a 1099.
I agree if we're debating actual tax policy. But we're (kinda) not.
We all know what was happening. People were buying basses (in particular for the purposes of this discussion) either locally, or via "good deals" in the interwebz. In many cases there was little-to-no documentation with these deals. Then they were flipping them on Reverb for a profit. And they were claiming exactly zero of the proceeds on their taxes. That was the "unspoken deal".
Now, was that "wrong"? Sure. That's not even the topic of the debate.
That fact still remains that there was a certain kind of economy built around the (undisputed) fact that many were flipping for a profit and not paying taxes. Some were even making a living at it. A friend of mine was doing it primarily with guitars during COVID. (He's a guitarist and sound engineer in both NC and Nashville. And, of course, both of those careers temporarily dried up.) He would buy a Mexi Strat (for instance) for a few hundred locally, and then sell it for $500-$600 via Reverb. He even shipped quite a few amp heads. He would sell the cabs locally and break even, selling the head online at a profit.
Higher shipping costs, combined with a clamp-down on those tax regulations, have made that a less-profitable endeavor.
I'm not debating what's right or wrong. I'm simply stating what was, and what is.
It is no longer profitable (in many cases) to flip on Reverb after factoring in taxes and shipping. Shipping costs alone have made it less profitable to flip, or even sell for what the seller thinks an item is "worth" (also debatable), via TalkBass.
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List them in East TN while you're at it
Edit: Ah, nvm, I read that as Western NC rather than Eastern
That aside, on my last bass sale (a month or two ago) I broke down and let PayPal convince me to try shipping through their 3rd party aggregator which did in fact bring the shipping down to half what it would have been and under $100 total.
I have a friend who constantly runs back and forth between here and Nashville. In fact, the amp I will be selling came from Knoxville via such a transaction some years back. If I don't get many bites in NC, I'll even list in Nashville since he can take the stuff there for me and do the transaction in person.
my experience also. once someone learns the cost of shipping a bass these days, they are longer interested...despite their previous claims to the contrary.
The last bass I shipped from Idaho to Delaware was an Alembic Persuader in a flight case (2 years ago). With insurance, tracking and signature required....$200 through UPS. I haven't shipped anything since. Local sales, trades etc is the only way to go now, for me!
Nah it used to be that I expected an average of $100 to ship. Now it’s like $150 for ground. Not a huge deal.
What has made me shy away from buying used like I have in the past are used instruments being listed at 75% or more of what new costs. Back in “the day”, 50-60% was common.
I saw a used bass the other day that looked interesting except it was listed for less 9% off what it goes for new. Pass!
What has made me shy away from buying used like I have in the past are used instruments being listed at 75% or more of what new costs. Back in “the day”, 50-60% was common.
I saw a used bass the other day that looked interesting except it was listed for less 9% off what it goes for new. Pass!
No
I checked and USPS and UPS and FedEx are still delivering packages. If it was outrageous they would not be growing.
I checked and USPS and UPS and FedEx are still delivering packages. If it was outrageous they would not be growing.
If you have a shipping service like the UPS store pack it and ship it, it will be expensive. If you pack and ship it yourself, it's a LOT cheaper. It's easy to open up an account with a shipper and it saves money. I have a UPS and a Fedex account. They have raised prices, but I've not seen the prices that are being posted here. An amp head that would have cost $35 last year, cost me $50 this year. I had a 210 cab shipped a couple months ago from California to me here in Indiana and the shipping was about $80.
It depends on where you live.
Americans seem to have become used to ridiculously low prices on almost everything, so any increased costs are perceived to be “outrageous.” Meanwhile in Canada, Europe, and Japan, folks haven’t had these issues or reacted as strongly because they were always paying slightly more for shipping and a small increase just isn’t perceived in the same way.
Another part of the problem is the “last leg,” which is where the largest portion of costs come from and this has gotten significantly more expensive in rich countries due to online retailers and fewer ppl using local mail services for things like letters and personal packages. This is something that has been studied by economists for years now and is actually fascinating if you’re a nerd like me.
That’s my take on it anyway, based on the things that I’ve read and my experiences buying and selling over the last 25 years or so.
Americans seem to have become used to ridiculously low prices on almost everything, so any increased costs are perceived to be “outrageous.” Meanwhile in Canada, Europe, and Japan, folks haven’t had these issues or reacted as strongly because they were always paying slightly more for shipping and a small increase just isn’t perceived in the same way.
Another part of the problem is the “last leg,” which is where the largest portion of costs come from and this has gotten significantly more expensive in rich countries due to online retailers and fewer ppl using local mail services for things like letters and personal packages. This is something that has been studied by economists for years now and is actually fascinating if you’re a nerd like me.
That’s my take on it anyway, based on the things that I’ve read and my experiences buying and selling over the last 25 years or so.
Hadn’t heard of Pirateship; gotta check them out!
For shipping, I’ve either used Paypal’s Shipstation or Shipnerd (there’s supposedly an extra discount for TGP members).
For shipping, I’ve either used Paypal’s Shipstation or Shipnerd (there’s supposedly an extra discount for TGP members).
The problem is that, depending on where one lives, there may be little to no market for what you have. I've had three basses for sale for months and only one nibble on the lowest priced one, for less than it was worth.
i've stopped selling except locally. prices are going up across the board and I don't think the used market has really gotten up to date with current prices.
